Chapter 5 Heating Systems Flashcards

A set of vocabulary-style flashcards covering the terminology, components, and concepts of commercial heating systems as described in Chapter 5.

Hydronic Heating System

A distribution system that delivers heat to a building using hot water.

Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

Also known as cogeneration, these systems generate electricity and thermal energy from a single fuel source.

District Heating (DH)

A network that supplies heat to several separate facilities from a central energy source sharing the same equipment.

The Plant

The location or building area where equipment used for heating and cooling, such as boilers and chillers, is situated.

Penthouse

The upper floor of most commercial buildings, which frequently serves as a location for mechanical rooms or storage.

Building Automation System (BAS)

An integrated system wired to monitor and control heating and cooling systems to maintain desired setpoints for temperature and humidity.

Combustion

A chemical process in which carbon and hydrogen in a fuel combine with oxygen from the air to produce light and heat.

Complete Combustion

A situation requiring an adequate supply of oxygen where all carbon in the fuel and oxygen from the air combine to form carbon dioxide ($CO_2$).

Carbon Monoxide (CO)

A tasteless, odourless gas produced by incomplete combustion that can cause serious health effects at concentrations less than $0.1\%$.

Incomplete Combustion

A dangerous condition resulting from inadequate oxygen, wrong fuel-air mix, or incorrect temperature, often producing carbon monoxide and soot.

Burner

Considered the heart of a heating system, its purpose is to mix air and fuel in proportions that promote efficient, complete combustion.

Process Water

Water used specifically within heating systems, distinct from domestic water used for drinking or personal use.

Supply Water

The heated water that is currently exiting the boiler to be distributed.

Return Water

The water that is sent back to the boiler after it has traveled through the heating system.

Pass

The movement of water as it travels back and forth inside the boiler to transfer heat from the burning fuel.

Boiler

A closed pressure vessel that uses conduction to heat water and generate hot water or steam through fuel combustion.

Watertube Boiler

A type of boiler where water flows inside tubes while hot gases from combustion flow around the outside of the tubes.

Firetube Boiler

A type of boiler where hot gases from combustion pass through tubes that are surrounded by the boiler water.

Heat Exchanger (HEX)

A device that allows heat to be transferred from a hotter fluid to a cooler fluid, such as from boiler water to return water.

Stack

Also called a flue or chimney, this component conveys hot combustion gases away from the boiler to the outside.

Circulating Pumps

Devices that provide the force or pressure necessary to push heated water through the piping system to heating terminals.

Expansion Tanks

Components that provide for the volume changes of water as it expands and contracts during heating and cooling to maintain constant system pressure.

Convector

A heating terminal in which air heated by contact with a device, such as a radiator or finned tube, circulates by natural or forced convection.

Finned Tubes

Heating terminals composed of a hot water pipe covered with metal fins to expand the heating area and promote heat transfer.

Air Handling Unit (AHU)

A component that draws in outside supply air to filter, humidify, heat, and circulate it through ductwork.

Compartment Units

Smaller air handling units located on individual floors used to circulate air locally.

Condensing Boilers

High-efficiency boilers that extract both sensible and latent heat from combustion gases.

Heat Pumps

Electrical devices that move heat from a warm space to a cool space (or vice-versa) rather than creating heat.

Geothermal Heating Systems

Systems that use ground-source heat pumps to capture latent heat from the earth absorbed from the sun.